How might industry leaders go about changing the cultural conversation when it comes to negative perceptions of the modern American energy landscape? According to Petroleum Equipment Service Association President Leslie Shockley Beyer, one key way to influence “the energy conversation” is to communicate openly with the younger generation about “the moral case” for maintaining and developing a robust energy infrastructure.
“Changing cultural attitudes today is about getting more young people — especially women — into STEM fields as an education, and trying to change the conversation by rebranding our industry through innovation and technology,” Beyer said while speaking on a panel at HERWorld Energy Forum, held recently in Houston. “That rebranding becomes stronger as companies become more diverse and people are able to understand the moral case for what it is we do.”
“There’s a cultural mentality that claims we should learn to live with less energy,” added Alex Fitzsimmons, communications director at Fueling U.S. Forward. “That’s fine if you want to do that, but some people are made to feel guilty for not wanting to live that kind of lifestyle, and it has pretty severe ramifications because energy inequality is still a big issue.
“We have to change cultural attitudes by being clear about what our principles are, which are that we don’t have to learn to live with less. We can reject this false choice between protecting the environment and producing energy and growing our economy. We should strive to use more of the most productive energy sources to improve our lives and maximize our quality of life without guilt or fear. And if we’re going to own the conversation, we have to be willing to say those things.”
Another way negative perceptions of the energy industry can be challenged is by reminding critics the recent era of energy scarcity has ended. “We have gone in the past seven or eight years from the era of energy scarcity we all grew up with to a new era of energy abundance — and this has not been as broadly recognized as it should,” explained Barry Worthington, executive director of the U.S. Energy Association. “We have to adjust this mentality and communicate with the public that the era of energy scarcity is over.”
When it comes to recruiting young people as energy industry workers, however, the most important element of the energy conversation is personal narrative. “There’s no hiding the fact that welding and pipefitting and all the things you do to build a plant are dirty and messy jobs, but there are great reasons to do them in terms of career and what people do well,” said Peter Beard, senior vice president of workforce development for Upskill Houston. “One of the things we’ve found is if you let people tell their stories about why they got into it, it changes the perception. It has to be about the storytelling and the pictures and the passion that workers bring to it.
“Industry has to own the conversation and open the door a little bit so people can actually see that. They need to be in a different relationship with the school system to have that conversation and market the good work they’re doing. When you look at the 120 plants along the ship channel, they care about three major things at a collective level: 1. They obviously care about the workforce, because they need to be working on that. 2. They care about safety — not only the general public safety but the safety of the plants and the workers in the plants. 3. And they care about the environment; they live in these communities, too. Part of the conversation has to be telling those stories in a different way that allows people to see them.”
For ongoing industry updates, visit BICMagazine.com. •
